Exploring the Twin Cities

I spent last week in Minneapolis and St. Paul for work. As my 10th travel season is currently underway, it was a lot of fun to have some new recruitment territory. The people were friendly and the cities are great--clean, lots of paths and bike lanes, and good recycling. I was working 12-15 hour days, so I didn't do much touristy stuff, but I did get the chance to explore some good local restaurants and go for a few runs.

Downtown Minneapolis skyline view from my hotel room.


On Friday night, I went with Lauren, my colleague from Ohio Wesleyan University, to have dinner at The Nook in St. Paul. This restaurant was featured on the Food Network show "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" as one of the best places in the city to get the signature "juicy lucy." We had to wait quite a while for a table since it was Friday evening, but we went down to the Nook's basement, which had a bar and a tiny bowling alley in it, so it turned out to be a very pleasant way to pass the time.

When we finally got to eat the juicy lucy, we were not disappointed! SO tasty, and the opposite of health food. To round out my healthy meal, I added a beer and some sweet potato fries. :) They weren't kidding about the molten cheese in the middle...

The next morning dawned into a perfect, crisp fall day. To take advantage of the weather and a window of free time before a day filled with interviews, as well as to pay penance for my indulgent meal the night before, I went for a run around Lake Calhoun. It is one of a chain of lakes just on the outskirts of downtown Minneapolis, with both a pedestrian and a bike path all the way around it. Beautiful scenery, gorgeous weather and a well-maintained trail made for an absolutely delightful 3.1 mile run. I took a brief pause to snap a photo with my phone of the Minneapolis skyline across the lake. So pretty, although this photo doesn't even come close to doing it justice!

I also spent some time exploring the cute shops that line Grand Avenue in St. Paul, as well as having lunch with one of my Kalamazoo College classmates at Cafe Latte, which is on Grand as well. Oh, and I had a fabulous tandoori chicken wrap for lunch at Brit's Pub in downtown Minneapolis. Those destinations are well worth checking out if you're ever in the Twin Cities.

Overall, I really loved the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and if it weren't for the extreme winter weather and the fact that it isn't Kalamazoo, I could see our little family really enjoying living there.